Pages

Friday, April 8, 2011

American Idol's Haley Reinhart Gives a "Piece of My Heart" on the Top 9 Show

Haley Reinhart, American Idol Season 10's Bluesy Ingenue performs Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart" on the Top 9 show. This week, Idol's tackled songs from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. "Piece of My Heart" came to mainstream attention when Janis Joplin, with Big Brother & The Holding Company, covered the song in 1968 on their album Cheap Thrills and had a hit with it. The song is included among 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll'. The song has since been remade by several singers, including hit versions by Faith Hill in 1994 and Melissa Etheridge in 2005.

This week, there was an all-star cast of celebrity mentors, including producer Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, who helped the contestants pick their songs and gave advice along with Jimmy Iovine, and No Doubt's Gwen Stefani who helped with styling with clothes from her L.A.M.B. line.

Haley Reinhart choose Janis Joplin's version of "Piece of My Heart" because, "The judges have been throwing around Janis' name for the whole competition. If you want Janis, I'll give it to you." Haley hit the stage in all black, looking folksy/Janis-y, but with curly, cheerleader hair. Another wardrobe MISS. Hair and outfit did not go together. I'm not saying she didn't look gorgeous, because she did. She makes singing look effortless, so her style should be as well. She belted out "Piece of My Heart", showing off her amazing powerful vocals. The growls and trills and rasps we all love were perfect, and Haley put a ton of passion and energy into the song. Haley totally energized the crowd, who gave her a loud ovation. All three Idol judges looked pleased with Haley's performance. Jennifer Lopez said, "Wow. We’re off to a strong start here. This is starting to feel like a real fight. What you’re showing everybody is that you're a contender; they need to be careful with Haley. You're comin' on strong. You got that stuff. You’re going to be around for a minute." Randy Jackson raved, "They love you Haley. What we were referring to (when we kept mentioning Janis Joplin) was that bluesy kinda soul thing that you have. You had that cool run at the end. That’s the Haley that we loved when we first saw you. Welcome back." Steven Tyler, looking at Haley with lust in his eyes like always, raved, "Haley, I couldn’t find nothin' wrong with that. You know, Janis Joplin is my favorite, and you’ve taken it up a few notches, and I loved that. Janis gave the voice to Rock-n-Roll back in 1968, and you did it again tonight. You nailed it."